Enemies of the Crystal State

A Ranma/Trigun/Sailor Moon/Scryed
Fanfic

By Kpjam


Disclaimer: I don't own any of these series.  I'm not clever enough to
actually create anything.  I just play.

Chapter one has beein revised. The reason the Senshi are after Vash has been
hardened, and Descartes lived.  Not worth reposting but so you know.

Previous chapters are here:  http://kpjam.anifics.com


Comments and Criticisms are welcome and much appreciated.
noirchloe@nyc.rr.com






Chapter 2: Hakuta

==========


The three travelers walked along the long abandoned mountainside road; which
was in severe disrepair, composed of cracks and crevices with small patches
of uneven-road in-between.  Their path was bounded on the right by a
guardrail, heavily twisted and missing several long sections, overlooking a
deep valley.

They were traveling at a retarded pace, while traversing an unstable route.
Ranma, on more than one occasion, considered traveling through the remnants
of the forest that was the other boundary of their path.  He dismissed the
idea after considering the state of the ruin the mountainside was in.  The
regions that he used to love as a child had been replaced by this ecological
landfill, a constant reminder to the folly of men.

Dead and decomposing trees where the norm, brittle and covered with moss.  A
few wisps of grass or weeds stretched out defiantly from in-between the
mess.  The short war had accomplished what decades of deforestation had
failed to do.  Destroy the forests.

He remembered the endless games of "Hide and Seek" he had played with the
others while traveling, always running amidst the trees, and in the branches
when they were older.  He remembered stumbling onto the various animals that
inhabited the forest; but, now he was much more likely to find a skeleton
instead.

He sighed, depressed from how simply walking reminded him of all that was
lost from the war, the forest above the ground, his innocence below it.

"You okay, Ranma?"

He turned to regard Minako and her small tentative smile.

"We should find a place to camp.  We won't make it to Hakuta before midnight
at this pace."

Hakuta was the next town, still a good sixty kilometers from the last road
sign they had past by.

"Alright."

Ranma nodded and led them off the road, picking his way over the timber,
looking for the most level path he could find to travel over.

He had spoken little to the two women, saying nothing really except to share
the identity of the next town.  They, on the other hand, had spoken
incessantly, chatting away to the point that Ranma had yelled at them to
shut-up.

He had been forced to endure Rei's wrath for a few minutes before they had
all fallen silent; a worthwhile exchange, in his opinion.

"I would have thought more trees and foliage would have survived," Minako
said from behind him.

"Geez, you're as bad as Usagi.  Things won't grow until this place is
cleaned up a little.  Also, the crystal doesn't seem to work far from
Crystal Tokyo."

"_I_ am not as bad as Usagi.  I got decent grades in school, just because I
didn't do as well as you did, doesn't mean I'm stupid. And besides, I had
fun dating in college, unlike some girls."

Ranma twitched as he listened to the girls argue.  "So much for peace and
quiet," he muttered under his breath.

"I still think there should be more growth around here. The trees around
Crystal Tokyo are pretty and the hills very green, I don't see why this
place isn't a _little_ better off?"

"What are you girls talking about?  Trees?  Grass?  Where?"

They exchanged a nervous glance with each other, worried that maybe they had
said too much.

"Neo-Queen Serenity healed the world after the nuclear war, cleansing the
land of radiation and other impurities in the air and in the people," Rei
lectured.

"Huh?  So...  I remember that day, the cleansing thingy I guess... But what
does that got to do with how you could create trees?  Don't they take years
and years to grow?"

"Neo-Queen Serenity used the Silver Imperial Crystal to do this.  She had to
clear the air first and then she healed the trees.  It made everything
healthy, even spurring the trees to grow to adult status quickly. " Ranma
ignored the note of annoyance, or impatience evident in the woman's voice,
curious about what she was talking about.

"That.. That doesn't make sense."

"It's the magic of the Silver Imperium Crystal."

"Magic, huh...  Well... I guess I'll have to see those tree someday."

"Yes, you should.  There are some beautiful forests around the city.  For
some reason the crystal didn't work that far from Crystal Tokyo.  Once you
get past the Osaka area, everything is dead and all," Minako sighed,
apparently distressed that the rest of Japan wasn't beautiful.

"It's because the land farther out wasn't properly cleared," Rei explained
with a sigh.

"I still think it shouldn't be this bad.  Grass should be growing at least.
It shouldn't matter that the dead trees weren't removed, _something_ should
be growing," Minako argued.

Ranma was busy trying to drown them out, holding in his verbal assault as he
scanned the area for a suitable place to camp.

"Alright," he said, as he stopped at a place that seemed suitable.  "We need
to clear this area so we can setup a campsite."  He indicated a small patch
of dirt, surrounded by debris and a few scattered tree parts.

He bent down to begin removing the larger pieces of wood, tossing some into
the center of the area.

"Why are you doing that?"  Minako inquired.

"I told ya already.  We need to clear a campsite.  What, you want to sleep
on branches and rocks?" he asked, exasperated.

"No!  Of course not, silly," she giggled.  "Why are you tossing some of the
pieces there?"

"Oh, that.  We can use them for firewood to cook dinner with," he explained,
a little sheepish at his misunderstanding.

"Dinner.  What's for dinner?"  The excitement and relief in the blonde's
voice was evident.

"Whatever you brought."  He glanced at the small backpacks they were
carrying and  realized he should have paid more attention earlier.  He
guessed, now that he thought about it, that the bags probably only contained
clothing and make-up, nothing suitable for living on the road.

"Ahh.  Hehe.  Ha."

"What?"  He knew whatever she had to say wasn't going to entertain him the
way it appeared to be entertaining her.

"Come on.  Say it."  His patience was again thinning.

"Ah... Ranma.  We don't have any a--"

"Food," he supplied for her, releasing her from her distress, and him from
his waiting.

"That is... we forgot. Can you please share your food?  Please?"  Minako
pleaded, sputtering the last part out without a hint of embarrassment.

Ranma grumbled and looked at Minako's pleading face.  He always had trouble
resisting the pleas of those in need, especially when they were sincere.

"We can pay," she offered brightly.

"Don..."  He was about to tell her not to worry about it when he remembered
Nabiki.  She had drilled into him the importance of money, and these girls
didn't look like they were hard up, in the money department at least.

"Don't worry, you won't starve.  We can talk about payment later."

"Thanks!"  She gushed.

He quickly turned away, intent on returning to the job of setting up their
small camp, lest he notice how attractive Minako was when she smiled.  He
immediately caught sight of Rei regarding him with a smirk, definitely an
amused smirk.  He bristled under her gaze and snapped, "What!?!"

Rei's smiled.  "Nothing," she responded and failed to remove her gaze from
him.

He regarded her for a second.  "Women," he muttered as he returned to his
preparations for dinner.


--------------------------------


Minako watched as Ranma ate quickly, sustaining a pace that Usagi would be
envious of.  She, on the other hand, had only taken a single bite of the
stew like substance.  Her hunger was overshadowing her dislike of the food,
but it was a close call.  Forcing herself, she placed another spoon-full
into her mouth.

She blanched and began to slowly chew the substance.  A glance to her right
confirmed that Rei was suffering through her meal as well.

"What is this slop?" Rei exploded.

"Simulated beef with carrots," Ranma muttered harshly.  He didn't look at
Rei as he stood and placed his bowl down.  When he looked up and faced Rei,
Minako could see the annoyance in his face.

"It's nutritious and non-perishable.  It's about the best food for
traveling, and it's more than the two of you brought!" he said abrasively.

Rei drew herself up to retort when Minako beat her to the punch.  "Thank you
again for the food, Ranma."  Minako placed a calming hand onto Rei's
shoulder and flashed Ranma her winning smile.  She watched as her attack
worked its magic, Ranma deflated and became obviously uncomfortable.

"Ah.  No problem.  I'll be back in a bit," he said, obviously off-guard.

"Where are you going?"  Minako asked.

"Going to scout the area a little."

"Oh.  Okay.  See you later."  Minako continued to hold onto her friend's
shoulder as she watched Ranma walk away.

"Why'd you do that?  This food is horrible!"  Rei exploded when Ranma was
out of sight.

"Because he's helping us.  There's no reason to get him mad."

"Did you taste this food!?!"

Minako looked down at her bowl and gulped.  "Yes. But there's no reason to
get mad at him.  It's not like we had anything to contribute."

"I'm not mad," Rei huffed.

"Then you're irritable."

"I am not irritable."

"Whatever."

Minako contemplated something, looking at her friends. "Doesn't he have a
cute butt?"  She finally asked vacuously, hoping to draw her friend out of
her sour mood.

Rei returned the question with a small glare before returning to her food.
Minako giggled softly and returned to the chore at hand.


-----------------------


Rei finally finished eating, or rather finished stuffing her nourishment
down her throat.  There were a few instances throughout the meal that she
had felt like weeping.  The contrast between this and the offering she had
received from Makoto a few days ago was almost too much to bear.

She also bristled under the fact that Minako was right, they shouldn't
antagonize Ranma.  After all, he was helping them out.  Although she
suspected that Minako had other reasons for being nice to the young man, she
had no proof and therefore was forced to endure Minako's excessive cuteness.

"I'm going to call in before he returns," she informed her friend, the
instant her bowl was mostly finished.

"Good idea."

She nodded and turned on her communicator, calling Usagi.

Usagi suddenly appeared on her small screen, a huge smile forming on her
face.

"Rei!" Usagi cried.

"Shh.  Not so loud," she admonished her Queen.

"Geez, what got into you?"

"Nothing.  We're fine, and thanks for asking."

"You really are grumpy."

"I am not!" she protested, ignoring the flame to her cheeks.  "How are Ami
and Makoto?" she asked, trying to regain her composure.

"Fine.  The surgeon removed the bullets, and then Hotaru healed them.
They're sleeping now, but should be up and about tomorrow."

"When are they coming back?"

"Ummm.  Well..."

"What?" Rei interrupted, annoyed at the obvious stall for time.

"Well, they have other duties to attend to right now.  You guys will be
fine.  So, where are you?"

"Camping," she sighed.

"Hey.  That sounds like fun! You think we could do that sometime later?"
chirped Usagi in her ever-happy tone.

"Yeah.  Whole lot of fun.  Whoopie..." Rei dead panned.

"Geez...  At least you didn't have to spend all day with arrogant
ambassadors."

"Well.  You didn't have to see your friends get shot, and then travel with a
boorish, obnoxious jerk."

"You're traveling with someone?"

"Yeah.  A guy named Ranma.  He knows the area and he knows how to get to the
town Vash was headed to."

"Oh.  Is he cute?"

"That doesn't--"

The screen Rei was looking into split, as Minako's appeared in half of the
display.  "He's gorgeous!" she exclaimed.

"Minako!" Rei yelled at the screen.

"How old is he?"  Usagi asked.

"Usagi!" Rei yelled at the other half of her display.

"I'm not sure.  He appears to be a little younger than us."

Rei started growling, frustrated, and not for the first time, because these
two could never be serious unless someone's life was on the line.

"Is he single?"

"I think so... he must be... traveling alone like he his.  He must not have
a wonderful wife to go home to," she said dreamily.

"Guys!  He's trying to kill someone!" Rei yelled into her communicator.

Both girls shut up instantly, and stared at their friend in silence.

"I forgot," Minako said shamefully.

"Oh," Usagi said.

"So what are Ami and Makoto doing that they can't join us?"  Rei asked,
trying to
steer the conversation towards something of consequence.

"Oh. Nothing important," Usagi said.  It was obvious to Rei it was something
important, and probably something big.

"Come on, Usagi.  Spill it."  Rei wasn't in the mood for Usagi's
playfulness.  She wanted to go to bed soon, get-up early, and get to a town
where they could get a decent meal.

"They're going to an omiai," Usagi answered.  The corners of her mouth were
creeping up forming a huge grin.

"What?!?!?"  Rei and Minako shouted into their communicators.

"Yeah.  One of the provincial rulers is searching for a bride.  And over the
course of the discussions he mentioned how attractive he thought you guys
were.  Well one thing led to another and he wants to meet you all and see if
any fo you are suitable to be his bride," she finished excitedly.

Rei sat stunned.  Trying to gather all the information that had just been
laid out to her.  Married.  One of them.  Well Usagi and Mamoru had been wed
right after they took over Tokyo.  Haruka and Michiru were as good as
married.  But this concerned her friends...  One of her best friends
could...  To someone they didn't even know.

"What if none of us like this guy?"  Minako asked.

"Well.  I hope one of you will,"  Usagi responded quickly.  A little too
quickly for
Rei's comfort.

"Why?" Rei asked.  Her suspicious nature leaking into her honest question.

"Why?  Don't you want to meet dashing men?  I thought you'd be happy.  Maybe
you can get married and be happy, like Mamoru and I are,"  Usagi answered
seriously after sighing, a sad, if somewhat nervous look adorning her face.

Rei considered her answer, unconvinced for some reason.  Something didn't
feel right to her about the situation, and the way Usagi was handling the
explaining of it.

"Well, tell us something about him!  What's his name?  What does he look
like? How old is he?" Rei was also curious to the answers of Minako's quick
questioning.

Usagi appeared to rear up, taking on a regal pose, as if she was about to
impart some world shaking news.  "I've never met him," she said, slumping
her shoulders and smiling apologetically.

"What are you girls doing?"  Rei whipped her head up, searching for the
masculine source of the interruption.  She spotted Ranma standing at the
edge of the clearing, looking curious.

Quickly hitting the disconnect button, and hoping Usagi would understand the
rudeness, she stared at Ranma, wondering what, if anything he had observed
or overheard.

"Ah, we were just talking," Minako replied quickly.  The lie sounded like a
lie to Rei's ears because the lie was a lie after all so it was obviously
the lie that it was, and that's no lie.  Rei stopped and wondered
momentarily if all the time she had spent with Minako had finally warped her
thinking process irrevocably.

"Oh, okay," Ranma responded.  Rei heaved a small sigh of relief, hoping it
would be obscured by the fading light.

He walked briskly, strode actually, to a space across the fire from them.
Rei only noticed then how dark it had become, the firelight danced across
his face, making him appear more dashing than before.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I don't suppose you have sleeping bags, do you?" Ranma asked, in a tone of
voice that said that he wasn't expecting them to have answered in the
affirmative.

"..."  She had forgotten all about outdoor bedding and sleeping attire;
apparently Minako had also.

"I thought so.  Where were you planning on sleeping?" he asked pointedly.

"We never thought of that."

Hearing the words from Minako made Rei feel stupid again, further deepening
her resentment of this trip and of that man.

"How the hell did you girls get here from Tokyo with no gear?" Ranma asked,
exasperated.

After taking a moment to think, Rei replied quickly, "Helicopter-"

"Plane," Minako said simultaneously.

She looked over at Minako when she answered differently, before they both
turned back to Ranma.

"Plane--" Rei announced.

"Helicopter," Minako chimed in.

A shiver of annoyance danced up her spine when she heard Minako contradict
her again.  Before they were forced to appeared anymore foolish, she elbowed
her friend, hoping it would silence her.

"We took a plane to Kyoto and then had a helicopter drop us off here," she
explained, hoping it would get them through.  She couldn't admit to
teleporting, it would open themselves up to too many other questions.

She watched as Ranma blinked, apparently mulling over the information.  She
held her breath while she hoped if he would buy that answer as well.

"That doesn't make sense," he finally replied.

Rei was stumped, not sure what to say, when Minako spoke up again.

"It's a long story, but we work for this paper, right?"  She waited for his
assent before continuing.  "Well, the owner knows this really eccentric guy,
who got lucky and still had a lot of valuable stuff with him after the war.
I think he was some military type or something...  Anyways, that's not
important, he wanted to go see the rest of the country, he heard it was wild
out here and he wanted to test his skill, or something... so he planned a
trip out this way.  When he decided to come and he finished his plans, he
told our boss, whom he was trying to impress and get written about.  Well
one thing let to another... and here we are.   So does that make sense?"

Rei was stunned and impressed at the same time.  Minako had given a credible
lie, hopefully Ranma would let it slide, if he didn't believe it outright..

"Well... does that make sense, or do I need to explain some more?"  Minako
asked when Ranma had failed to respond after a few moments.

Quickly raising his hands, he shook his head, like he was admitting defeat.
"I got ya.  You're pretty lucky that worked out."

"Well, we get lucky a lot," Minako replied, earnestly.  Rei wondered for a
second if her reply sounded to Ranma, how it sounded to her.

"Well...  I don't got much in the way of spare bags or anything.  But I got
some extra clothes and an extra blanket.  You girls can make due with that.
I'd suggest getting some real stuff in town, if you're planning on actually
traveling on foot for a while."

"Thanks, Ranma," both girls replied sincerely.



********************


Usagi looked into the blank screen, wondering if she should call them back.
She
wanted to, but she didn't want to talk to them anymore about the omiai.  If
the first two failed, then those two would meet him next.

She hoped it worked out, she wanted all her friends to be happy...  She
wanted all of Japan to be happy.  The delegate had even hinted at that, but
first and foremost, Usagi wanted her friends to enjoy the wedded bliss she
shared with her Mamoru.  Setsuna and Mamoru agreed a union with one of the
other Lords would go a long way.  Although Setsuna seemed less than fully
supportive in her endorsement of the idea, merely deferring to Mamoru's
lead.

"Hmm.  Maybe I should talk to Setsuna some more," she thought to herself.

The fact that the potential bride-groom was a serious looker, if the picture
she had seen could be believed, didn't hurt matters even.  He was also a
self-made man, that spoke to his abilities, and he had such an interesting
name, Knives.


************************************************


The three travelers walked up to the town gates.  The less than impressive
structure was made up of a few steel girders that had been stripped from
some building.  They were currently up, but appeared to lay crossways across
the gap in the wall that surrounded the town.  The wall was a series of
posts, mostly logs, apparent dead falls, with an occasional steel girder
thrown in for variety.

The couple guards at the gate paid them a cursory glance, apparently
satisfied that the he and his companions looked harmless enough they were
let through with little trouble.

Posted in unevenly spaced watch-towers, were the town sentries and
look-outs, displayed more overtly than Ranma had encountered in other towns.
He wondered if they had faced an inordinate amount of trouble lately had
precipitated this action.

As they passed the gates and got a their first good look at the town, Ranma
shook his head in pity.  The town looked seedy and run down, an announcement
of its impoverishment.  Numerous buildings were visibly patched together,
obviously reconstructed from parts of buildings that were no longer
standing.

Ranma stopped to survey the area.  It was his first trip to Hakuta, but he
had seen other towns like this.

"Geez...  What a dump," he heard Rei announce.  He held his reply in check,
wanting to end his attachment to the girls without further incident.

He had finished his visual sweep of the area, when he noticed a young woman
walking towards them and waving.  She was approximately his age, with long
purple hair, and stunningly beautiful.  She was his height, slim with long
legs, and possessed a radiant smile.

She waved at him, stopping him dead in his tracks.  He felt awkward, staring
at her while he tried to place her face.

"Rei! Minako!" she called.  Ranma's held his breath until he realized his
mistake and felt the air flow out of him as he deflated, from disappointment
or relief, he didn't know.

"Hotaru!"  He flinched from the twin yells behind him and watched as both
his traveling companions raced past him.  They all met in one giant hug,
Ranma took a moment to further observe the new girl, Hotaru.  He noticed she
was dressed similarly to Minako and Rei, adorned in nice complimentary
clothing, in good condition, and kept her hair long.  She looked like she
had been living well, like the two other girls.  From these clues he quickly
assumed she was also from Tokyo.

"What are you doing here?"  Minako asked, when the reunion had been made.

"Didn't Usagi tell you?  I'm working with you."  Hotaru glanced at Ranma
when she recited the second sentence.

"No.  She didn't mention it to me.  Rei?"

"No. She only mentioned that Ami and Makoto wouldn't be with us," Rei
replied.

"Oh.  Well I'm here," Hotaru beamed.  "Ready to help out.  So how was your
trip?"

"It sucked!" Rei exclaimed.  "It was ghastly!"

"Well.  I've seen you ladies here,"  Ranma chimed in, interrupting Hotaru as
she was about to speak, "...so I'll get going now," he finished.

"Ranma, wait."  Minako called.  He stopped the footsteps he was about to
take, as he turned to regard the woman, who now appeared flushed.  He
wondered if she was ill.  "Maybe she needed him to find a doctor for her?"
he surmised to himself, becoming increasingly alarmed from all the possible
illnesses that she could have caught on their short trip.

"Yes?"  He asked worried, and a little upset that he hadn't noticed anything
wrong with her before.

"Ah... that was rude of us, I'm sorry, we were really excited.  This is
Hotaru," she said almost meekly, introducing the purple-haired beauty.

"Err... okay," he responded, realizing that Minako apparently wasn't ill,
annoyed at the delay and his misconception.  He wanted to be on his way and
fast! Vash was not known to be in a single place for too long.

His annoyance and impatience wavered, when he turned to great the girl and
was hit with her bright smile.  "Nice to meet you and all. Hmm..."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ranma.  Thank you for helping out my friends,"
Hotaru said sweetly.

"Yeah... hmm... by the way, thanks, for escorting us and everything. It was
very kind of you," Minako added before he could respond to the other girl.

"Sure, no problem," he said, trying to be polite.  Having little idea what
else to say, he added, "Maybe you guys should find a store or something.
You know... so you can get some real gear.  You might need it, if you keep
traveling away from Tokyo."  He said, scratching the back of his neck.

"Okay," Minako replied gratefully.

"Oh, and definitely a tent.  If it had rained last night, you wouldn't have
been able to sleep."

"Definitely," agreed Minako with her sunny smile.

"Alright then.  Good luck to you," he said in parting.  He turned and began
to walk away, relief at being free of feeling responsible for those girls.

"Ranma," he heard Minako call him, freezing him again in his tracks.

"Yeah?" he responded, hoping he had kept from growling, as he turned to face
the girls.   Minako looked nervous, but a little happy.  Rei was looking at
Minako, an annoyed expression on her face, while Hotaru looked speculative.
Hotaru's look made him the most nervous, as she didn't hide the fact on what
she was speculating about.

"I was hoping, maybe you would go shopping with us.  You know... help us
pick out the stuff we need."

Ranma considered, knowing that they probably really needed the help, as
clueless as they seemed. "Maybe the new girl was more together," he wondered
to himself.

Glancing at her, he noticed her smile in return, bright faced and... hungry
looking.
"No. No better there," he told himself.  Surveying the angry look on Rei's
face he thought maybe he'd help them, just to spite her.

"Yeah.  Sure," he finally responded.  "You could use the help," he said
derisively.

"Great!  Let's go find a place to shop," Minako said gleefully.


***************************


Rei watched as Ranma looked into another shop.  She was wondering what was
so difficult about finding equipment.   She poked her head in, and surveyed
the surroundings.  This place seemed to be no different than the other two,
but Ranma walked into this one, a small smile on his face.

"So, can we buy the stuff here?" she asked irritably.

"This place seems to be okay," he responded.

"I don't see, why didn't we just buy the supplies at the first shop?  It all
looks like the same stuff!"

She looked at her companions for support, disappointed at the indifferent
expressions she received in response.   She assumed Minako was indifferent,
because she was making use of the time by engaging Ranma in small talk.
Hotaru seemed to deem that activity acceptable, throwing in the occasional
comment to move the conversation along.

Rei wondered about Ranma's answers.  Yesterday, they hadn't talked at all
until camp, and there they had said little.  This morning and afternoon he
had opened up a little under Minako's constant pressure, engaging in
conversation with the blonde until they had arrived at town.

In town she had begun to notice a pattern, whenever the question was about
something that didn't involve him directly, he was a wellspring of
information, and quite smug about his knowledge.  When the questions hinted
at something personal, he would deflect it, or just ignore it.  She was
growing suspicious, and wishing that her friend would start thinking with
her head, and not her...

Ranma had quickly proceeded to collect a surprisingly large amount of
material, although the total space they took up was small.  A few backpacks,
sleeping bags, and other accessories that Rei failed to recognize.

She walked up to the storekeeper, joined by the other two girls, as they all
looked over Ranma's shoulder.

"So that will be one hundred-thousand yen," the clerk said.

Rei watched as Minako reached for her wallet, but was stopped by Ranma.

"Wait a second, Minako."  He reached into a pocket, and retrieved a small
notebook.  The small book was flipped open and Ranma scanned through it,
apparently finding what he was looking for.

"Well," she said impatiently.

Ranma raised a hand, which quieted her, as he continued to stand in place,
examining the book.

"Well," the store owner said.

"Forty-thousand," Ranma replied.

"That's an outrage," the store owner gasped.

Ranma looked a little nervous, but shrugged.  "That's what this is worth,"
he replied defensively.

"Ranma, that's okay.  We can--"  Minako was reaching for her purse when
Ranma interrupted her.

"No.  We can go get this stuff at one of the other stores."

"Well, I got the best gear," the owner said, his voice a little pleading.

Ranma was silent for a moment.  "Yeah.  That's true, but it's not worth
being ripped off for," he responded.

"Well.  How 'bout eighty-thousand then."

"Hmm.  I think they could be worth fifty-thousand.  It is pretty good stuff.
But not really that great."

"Seventy-five.  And that's a deal for all this gear."

Rei watched as Ranma mulled the offer over.  "Ranma," she growled.  The
extra savings wasn't that important.

"Naw.  That's okay.  Come on guys, the first shop will get you a better
deal," he said as he turned around.

Rei looked at the other two girls, both uncertain about his manner and
unsure of what actions they should take.  The owner was glancing between
Ranma's retreating back and the girls.  Rei had no idea what he was
thinking.

Minako finally shrugged and began walking after Ranma.  "Sixty-five," the
owner yelled.

Ranma stopped and turned to Minako.  "That's a decent price, a little too
expensive, but..."

Minako took his meaning and produced her wallet again.  "We'll take it," she
said cheerfully, as she began counting out the money.

Rei looked at Ranma, confused at and surprised by his actions, not expecting
him to be so effective at haggling.

Minako had paid, and called for the other two girls to help her with the
stuff.   Rei quickly took a third of the material, picking out a nice red
backpack, and wondering at the coincidence of the color choices, red,
orange, and purple.  She didn't mention it, but wondered if maybe she was
being a little too suspicious.

Hefting her gear, she was pleasantly surprised at how light it was, before
she following the others out of the store.

"That was fantastic, Ranma," Minako gushed, when they had exited the shop.

"No.  You could have maybe gotten it for fifty-five, maybe fifty thousand if
you hadn't seemed so anxious."

"Well, thank you anyway," Minako said, ignoring the slight dig.

"What was on that notepad?"  Rei asked.

Ranma shrugged and pulled out the notepad.  He flipped a few pages and
showed it to the girls.  Rei leaned in close with the other.


"Martial arts haggling?" Hotaru said, confusion evident in her voice.

"And a price list," Minako added.

"It helps me to not waste money," he said defensively, as he closed the book
and returned it to his pocket.

Rei wondered if it was a sore spot for him, needing to use a price list and
notes for shopping.

"Well, ladies.  I guess this is it," he said, when they reached an
intersection.

"Yup," Rei responded.  Hoping to get back to their mission.

"It was nice meeting you, Ranma," Hotaru added sweetly, as she extended her
hand
to the young man.

"Yeah, you too," he replied nervously, as he took the offered hand and shook
it roughly.

"Ranma..."  Minako started and then stopped speaking.  Ranma turned to her,
looking confused.  Minako blushed, before darting in and planting a kiss on
his cheek.  Ranma recoiled quickly, almost as if he had been slapped,
resulting in a hurt expression on the girl's face.

"Thanks for helping us out and I'm glad I met you," she said, obviously
trying to recover from her disappointment.

He looked lost for a second, before recovering his wits and responding, "Ah,
yeah. Same here."

He continued to stare at her, a puzzled look upon his face, as if he had no
idea what to make of the girl.  Rei would loathe to admit this out loud, but
he looked very cute that way.  She was beginning to see some of the things
Minako found attractive in the man.

"What are you going to do if Vash isn't here?" she suddenly asked.

"Don't care about Vash," he replied.  An untruth Rei was sure even Minako
could spot by the defensive tone he used.

"But... aren't you trying to kill him?"  Minako stammered confused.

"Who said that?"  The dangerous tone in his voice set Rei on edge and
fumbling in her pocket for her henshin stick.


"You did.  Yesterday in the fight," Minako countered, ignoring the warning
gesture Rei tried to make with her free hand.

"What do you know about the fight?"

Minako looked at him strangely, before turning to Rei, looking confused.

"We followed you to the cliff.  We saw the fight with the Senshi and what
you said about Vash," Rei supplied.  She was ready to say some very unkind
words to Minako about her memory and the definition of discretion.

"Oh...  Yeah..."  Ranma took an audible breath.  "Vash needs to pay for his
actions," he finished solemnly before turning and walking away.

"You shouldn't kill," Minako said to his back.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Ranma responded, devoid of any
emotion and without breaking his stride.

"But...  But...  You're not a killer."

"I have to do this."

"Just...  Just reconsider," she yelled after him.

The three of them stood there watching his retreating form.  Rei cast a
glance at Minako, noticing the worry on the girl's face.  A sight that
induced trepidation in
Rei, it was unlike Minako to form a bond with a random guy like this.  Sure,
she had been prone to becoming infatuated quickly, but this appeared to
border on real caring.

"Why do you care so much about what that jerk does?"  Rei finally asked,
honestly curious.

Minako sighed and turned to face her friend.  "I can't say.  I just...
There's something about him.  I can tell, he's really a good guy.  Look at
the way he helped us."

Minako's hand whipped up silencing Rei, before she could respond.

"I know he's a little rough, but he was helpful when no one else was.  He's
also a fighter, but I don't think he's a killer.  I hope he doesn't take
that step, I hope no one else ever has to."

"Minako, I believe in your heart, so should you."  Rei was astounded at
Hotaru's words.  Words that sounded suspiciously like something Usagi would
say, full of love, support and hope.

Not willing to say anything further on the subject of Ranma, Rei threw out
the next question.  "What next?"

"We find Vash... and keep Ranma from killing him," Hotaru responded,
offering Minako a hopeful smile.

"Sounds good to me," Rei replied, not so much from feelings about Ranma, but
from a distaste concerning violence and killing in general.


**************************************


Unnoticed by the three women, a small boy had been listening in on the
conversation.  "Vash the Stampede is in town," he said to himself and
whistled.

Turning a corner, he ran to tell his pops, thinking about the new stuff he
could buy if they managed to capture Vash.


----------

Continued in next message.



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